Hello All,

Would appreciate any insights....

I'm looking for a smaller size keyboard for:

(1) Grab and go for instance if I play with a friend at their house...or very small intimate events.

(2) Something I can let the grand kids play around with and I can help to teach them to use an arranger.

(3) Perhaps once in a while for a small show.

What I would want is USB capability to set up shows and the ability for line out in case I want to add an external speaker.
Minimum 64 polyphony would be nice.

We do have one of those entry Yamaha keyboards...an E343 or something like that. No USB capability I don't think?

I've thought about the Korg Micro Arranger(know very little about it except what I can find on-line), the Korg PA 300 or the new PSR 670 that's coming out. Thing is the PA 300 and PSR 670 just aren't that much smaller...but a possibility.

Wish Yammie had something like the Korg Micro Arranger.

Thoughts?

Many thanks in advance.

Whilst I'm a Yamaha user I investigated the Kory micro stuff to use as an extra keyboard and they all looked very capable. The only thing micro about any of them was the size rather than the capability.

The main issue is coping with the smaller keys. I had a Casio cz101 and despite having large hands never had a problem, but I do know that some people find the change hard to get used to.

the korg pa300 and the Yamaha keyboards until you get to the PSRS-750 do not have stereo line outputs. They all have a headphone jack out only. When you use the phone output you loose the internal speakers. When the Yamaha 670 comes out you will have stereo line outputs so you can use both. The PSRE443 is the least expensive Yamaha with USB thumb drive capability but still no separate stereo outputs. Casio makes the WK series in the $400.00 price range which do have stereo outputs and sd card storage but the arranger functions don't sound nearly as good as the Yamaha and Korg products.

For me, the smallest I'd go for would be a PSR-S750 or a second hand PSR-S910. A lightweight fully adjustable X-Stand would allow the use of any available chair if I wanted to be seated.

The onboard speakers (especially the S750) would be powerful enough for intimate setting gigs and the OS would be something with which I'm already comfortable.

They both have stereo outs, dedicated MIDI ports, and oodles of third party styles available at PSR Tutorial.

The Korg microArranger is a nice piece of kit, but the different OS and the smaller keys would put me off, and, I'm not sure if I'd want kids learning on a non-standard sized keyboard.

The newly released PSR-S670 looks real nice, especially since it has all the fingering options (including on-bass) and stereo outs, and, although it has no dedicated MIDI ports, it does have a lot of arps and more modern styles that kids would be more interested in.

Also, if there are replacements for S950/S750 on the way, you may get an S750 (essentially an S910 with no mic input or VH2) at an attractive price.

Ian

I can't believe nobody mentioned the Roland BK-5. I have an E-50 myself (two generations prior) which is slightly thicker and heavier due to the touchscreen.
The BK-5 is not as fully featured as a PA600 or PSR-s750. But Roland's arrangers pack some great sounds and styles in the smallest, lightest package of any MOTL arranger. I think it weighed about 17 lbs and a compact form factor too.

For me anythign would work as long as the keywidth is standard... Having smaller keys works contra for most beacuse o automation and my fingers finding the keys blindly.... with smaller keys it got me staring at the keys...

The smallest possible would be a 49 key with no side pannels, and just a minimalistic bar with buttons and a small screen.. battery operated, with some speakers in the back



And, yes we are all jealous about the mobillity of a guitar...

Tx for the insights all. I think I'll take some time to look around. Our kids have the E423 we started with. We're getting that back. I see it does have USB so maybe that will work.

Any other thoughts are appreciated.

Bachus,

As a guitar player I really appreciate the portability of a guitar. But it sure sounds thin compared to a keyboard at gigs.

I was surprised to see that both the BK3 and BK5 are 128 polyphony.

I tried the BK5 extensively. I liked it and that was BEFORE the OS 1.05 update which added some useful features. Don't waste your time with the BK3, IMO it's inferior in every way. Most importantly it doesn't have on-board style creation and editing.

I ended up keeping my E50 because it has a built-in sequencer, bigger screen and the style creation workflow had been thoroughly debugged by a generation of G-70 users. But if it ever fails I would definitely replace it with a BK-5 or upgrade to the BK-9. Both sound good and are enjoyable for "real time" play.

Korg Microarranger is the most powerful for me in features but your fingers hurt after a few hours of playing,you can also get a 49 key controller keyboard and an arranger module like a BK-5m or a Ketron sd-5 or xd-3 tat is if weight is the biggest factor?

Hi Quitpic1:

I currently own a used PSRS-S910 and a used PSR-2000 (Yamaha) and have owned a Micro-Korg. The 910 will run rings around the 2000 and I gave up on the Micro because of the learning curve required to transition. (It was a nice little board and I loved the size... reminded me of some of the very early PSR Yamaha models.)

I'd love to own a PSRS-S950 but your question about a smaller arranger is most interesting to me. I am a songwriter and never perform or play to an audience... so I could do without speakers as long as a headset port is included. USB is a must and that would include firewire USB as well. The length of the keyboard is not an essential element for me. I only play chords with the left hand so the rest of the keys are normally unused by me except on rare occasions.

I absolutely love the color display and would even like it better in a larger size. I've grown so used to Yamaha's general layout I would like to see that continued in my dream-yammie-micro but could stand some of the features moved to the left hand side to reduce the length. I especially like the rubberized buttons... prevents noise in the microphone when recording.

I would also love to see a USB stick port on the front of the machine to allow easier importing and exporting of styles, multi-pads, etc.

One of my biggest complaints about Yamaha is the lack of bluegrass instruments such as a flattop/dobro guitar and more modern sounding styles for this genre. Many modern country songs are featuring dobros or flattop resonator guitars in strategic points of a song such as breaks, intros or endings.

I also hope that in the future, Yamaha (and others) will use the color display screen with easily identifiable layers for making song arrangements easier. Each time I write a new song or composition, I have to reset the pan buttons as though I were an orchestra leader with the instruments "aimed" directly at the center (the conductor) or have a feature that would allow this as part of a global setup.

I could also live without Yamaha's recording arrangement because I use a dedicated digital recorder in lieu of the onboard unit. (space savings)

Forgive me as I dream... I know I represent a very small customer base... but Yamaha or others could exploit this new configuration to songwriters if they would put forth a real effort to "educate" salesmen at the big box stores to understand how arrangers are different plus how styles and multi-pads can enhance a song demo. At last count, there are more than 75,000 songwriters in the USA alone and a target price of less than $500 dollars would probably be a "home run" for them, monetarily.

I'm sure there are many other cost cutting changes many of you can envision... but please remember, my ideas are aimed at song writers or composers.

All the best,

Dave Rice